bkroz

"Trapped in a little cage for 2 hours? Now they know a fraction of how those trapped animals feel." Bkroz, predicting the comments on news sites before reading any.

I'm flying Spirit to LAX from CLE in early January for something like $206 roundtrip. Feels good! bkroz, who knows the difference between weather and climate, as it were.

Agreed, but it is what it is. Why? I don't know. Does it really improve returns to have the word "interactive" in the description? Maybe.

Working as we speak to switch my flight to the first week of January. In the past, that's been a good time to go. Families with school age kids have left by then. December? Been a time or two. It's a madhouse.

It's hard to say. Fans argued that Disneyland – Walt's original park – shouldn't have a whole land themed to a single IP a la The Wizarding World or Cars Land. But it would especially be a slap in the face to have a single intellectual property take over one of the original lands that date back to Walt's time and his dedication and his attractions, etc. etc. And it WOULD be weird. Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland, Star Wars Land? It doesn't jive. Granted, putting it in the back of the park is really no better. It STILL doesn't fit in with the intimate, classic, tiny original park. But what you're seeing happen in Tomorrowland right now (the Season of the Force event) is probably a lite version of what a Star Wars Tomorrowland would've looked like. And it's... not great. Not to mention, just shoving Star Wars into the existing Tomorrowland – even if it was a quality shove – would not hold a candle to the immersion and storytelling and detail of Cars Land or the Wizarding World. If Disney's going to do it, they ought to do it big and from scratch. That's the only way they can prove that they can do Harry Potter sized design. Hyperspace Mountain isn't enough.

I'm in the midst of planning a January trip to Disneyland. I was all prepped to visit in late January. Late January / early February is about all that's left of the "off season" anymore, so I expected very low crowds. Of course, in exchange, I knew that quite a few attractions would have their annual refurbishments. But wait... This winter, Disney will begin construction on a new Star Wars land being built in the northwest corner of the park, on the northern shores of the Rivers of America. So on January 11, the following attractions will close for at least a year to facilitate that: The Rivers of America The Sailing Ship Columbia The Mark Twain Riverboat Tom Sawyer Island Explorer Canoes Fantasmic! Big Thunder Ranch (closing permanently) But that's not all. January 11 will also mark the official end of the Holiday Time promotion, so we'll have a few seasonal closures: Haunted Mansion (closing to remove the Nightmare Before Christmas inspired Holiday overlay... Should open by the end of January, but that's not official yet) Jungle Cruise (closing to remove the Jingle Cruise holiday overlay, and supposedly due to remain closed until summer for an extensive refurbishment.) Autopia Now don't forget, we're talking about January so it's logical for the water rides to have their annual break: ALSO on January 11, Grizzly River Run closes. Splash Mountain won't be far behind. THAT SAME DAY, JANUARY 11, the magnificent Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular closes forever to be converted into a (you guessed it) Frozen themed stage show due to open this summer despite 19,000 signatures on a petition, a dedicated Twitter account opposing the change, and almost unanimously negative reaction to the replacement on the official, moderated Disney Parks Blog. Luigi's Flying Tires has been closed all year as it's replaced with a trackless, LPS flat ride that won't be open by my trip. Oh, and a week earlier, on January 4, Soarin' Over California closes, maybe for the last time before it becomes Soarin' Around The World (which is absolutely illogical in Disney California Adventure where the original, classic, California-themed ride still attracts massive crowds.) So it's POSSIBLE that Haunted Mansion and "it's a small world" may be open for some or all of my trip depending on how quickly their holiday overlays disappear, but absolutely everything else in bold above will be closed. Can you imagine? As long as Indiana Jones Adventure is open, I can bare to press forward with the trip if I have to. However, I'm going to do everything I can to change it to any date before... January 11th... *lightning and thunder, horses whinny, maidens shriek*

Not a bad fit for the former Crypt building. In fact, the few pieces of concept art shown look like they might as well be of the Crypt's queue. Sort of a fun concept - the old cavern entrance is a lava tube that's broken up from the ground of Rivertown.

STR was a bad idea in every single sense. It was advertised as a thrill ride and promoted with an in-depth, viral marketing style backstory all about a feud between two rival hillbilly families and their bottling business. Sure, it was Cedar Fair, but I know I wasn't alone in expecting at least a few rudimentary animatronics, sound effects, music, maybe a "falling barrel" effect, a pre-show video in the queue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL4A974F53C3E5FDBF&v=shCyUzTqdto Shoot the Rapids floats lazily at a crawl past fences and ferns. The only semblance of story is a sign that says "Watch For Falling Rock." But then, of course, no rock falls. Lazy in every sense. The mechanical issues that endangered lives are obviously much more important. But I don't think STR is worth being in Cedar Point's line-up anyway.

At least at Busch Gardens' Christmastown, I was told that B&M coasters are clear to run when the temperature will be 40 degrees or higher. The first year I went to Christmastown, Griffon was the only coaster slated to open, though it didn't on any of my three days. Now, Verbolten is their Christmastown coaster, allegedly because Zierer gives the green light for as low as 35 degrees. In New Jersey, I would expect that the manufacturer's recommendations must be followed? If that's the case, maybe Nitro won't open as often as expected. At least for me, the "Things To Do" page for Holiday in the Park comes up as a 404 error. https://holiday.sixflags.com/things-to-do

^ One thing I learned from that article: "Howl-O-Fest" dates back to even earlier than FearFest! Though it's not even called that anymore, is it? But still.

And as usual, such a kind, upbeat, engaging response from Kings Island's Twitter. I swear, many of the tweets from that account to fans asking questions reads as if they're dripping with disdain. Compare that to Disneyland. It's not hard to be accessible, excited, and friendly on Twitter if you just put the right spin on it. bkroz, who mentioned via Twitter that they ought to add trees to the park map since showing The Beast sitting out in a field didn't give the right impression. The official park Twitter responded by saying "It's a map of the rides, not of individual trees." Well then. Suit yourself. (By the way, the next year, trees were added. Or, three-pronged bushes at least.)

Both parks answer to their competitors. Knott's Berry Farm competes with Disneyland for Southern California locals and it shows in Knott's priorities. Kings Island competes with Cedar Point. Kind of. And it shows in Kings Island's priorities. Kings Dominion competes with Busch Gardens and it shows in Kings Dominion's priorities. Matt Ouimet's the other big piece. Remember he came from Disneyland Resort where he was the park president. During his time there, he restored a lot of the history and reverence of the park in preparation for its 50th Anniversary, and eliminated many of the cost-cutting choices of the era that preceded him. Knott's is about 10 minutes from Disneyland, and I'm pretty sure Ouimet has said before that he was excited to bring out the potential in Knott's. And he's doing it in spades. That's probably his "spirit park" of Cedar Fair's line-up. He saw it from Disneyland for years and no doubt had grand plans in mind once he was able to make changes there.

Coney Mall. Potential is off the charts. Paint everything in classic white, matching retro marquees for the rides, all rides outfitted with flashing incandescent bulbs, mall lined with flags. You can even go a little "overboard" and use the vaguely retro-modern style shades of Gemini Midway at Cedar Point and go real "groovy" with it. We're talking era-appropriate music, gleaming white Racer, popcorn lights strung across the midway, Racer racing (duh), planters full of trees. If we're keeping score, the former Arcade and adjoining building would be a great spot for a retro Midway Mania style interactive dark ride by Triotech. In the ideal build-out of the park I posted on here once, I had Backlot Stunt Coaster retrofitted as a Steeplechase-style ride with the same chaser lights, white track and supports, etc. to bring it into Coney Mall where it belongs. Doing so, the dinosaur exhibit (if it stays) could blend well into the land, themed to a "tourist trap" or something with retro billboards lining the midway advertising "COLOSSAL PREHISTORIC BEASTS, NEXT LEFT!" etc. (though that depends on the whims of the company they're rented from). But overall, it's the part of the park with the richest potential and the simplest path to being a well-themed area. Rivertown is – frankly – beyond realistically saving at this point. (And for that, I still blame Diamondback. Fantastic ride, yes. It's killer that Swan Lake had to be sacrificed for it. But even worse, management at the time saw no value in planting trees around the lake. Sure, it was an eyesore the year it opened, but if they'd planted heavy, real trees, we might be well on our way to filling that land back in. Instead, we got a few dogwoods, meaning that in 50 years, Rivertown is still going to feel like a wide, expansive plaza. It's a shame that long term vision wasn't there for that.) I know everyone hopes The Crypt building will become a wild mouse or a Triotech dark ride but, being very honest, neither concept amazes or excites me. As much of a broken record as I sound, I still think that a clone of Kings Dominion's Crypt – waterfalls and all – would be INCREDIBLE placed in our old Crypt showbuilding. Their music, waterfalls, mist, fire, and ride system combined with our goddess, queue, theatrical lighting capabilities, volcano, etc. would be a certifiable E-ticket. Just, don't bring back The Bat (not the coaster despite being auto-capitalized). Like, THAT'S a thrill ride / dark ride combo and without any wild expense. Consult me with questions, Don. Oktoberfest is also beyond saving, unless someone finds it prudent to re-cast it as an adventurous South American jungle outpost or something, which would necessitate changes to the interior and exterior of Festhaus and I don't think management could give a rat's behind about details like that so they doubtlessly think it's fine how it is, and maybe it is and we're the nit-pickers who care too much. International Street is what it is and we can't change that. X-Base is really nice. Needs a flat ride and bathrooms (and its own official designation on the map???) but otherwise it's a solid themed area. Action Zone doesn't exist anymore for all intents and purposes, though there's great potential in sub-dividing it into an Action Zone backlot and a Haunted Hill, but that would require thematic changes that – again – I doubt Cedar Fair would find worthwhile.

Besides that^, it's also worth mentioning that the biggest downfalls for Winterfest that year were probably the weather, the pricing, and management in no particular order. Weather because it was unreasonably, bitterly cold. Like, unbelievably so. With tremendous winds. Anecdotal evidence here will support that. The event was also priced pretty steeply for the offerings: $24.99 (and this was a decade ago). Season passholders could purchase tickets for $16.99. It's the understanding of many here that Winterfest was a quick-thinking attempt by then-current management to display the versatility of the Paramount Parks at a time when they were for sale... And not for cheap, either. "Our parks are able to extend their operating season into the winter! Don't you want parks in your portfolio that can generate revenue in November and December?" It worked. And then, once Cedar Fair assumed control and looked through the finances... Winterfest disappeared again. Maybe that'll change soon. But in my opinion, one or more of the above needs to change dramatically for Winterfest to be a success. The weather is not up to us and management is beyond our control, so it'll come down to adjusting the price, or dramatically improving the offerings. That means good, authentic food that people want to eat, elaborate entertainment, local vendors and craftsmen, and quality merchandise. And even then, it may be that people just don't understand why the park is worth visiting if there are no rides. And again, that may be a fair question for the Kings Island of 201X to consider.

Also worth considering: in the 1980s, Kings Island was a park filled with world class family entertainment, authentic and high quality dining, gorgeous gardens and architecture, real craftsmen selling their impressive wares in Rivertown, and detailed and immersive themed lands. Winterfest was a natural extension of that – the elaborate entertainment, quality food, local crafts, and lovely gardens people knew and loved, now decked out for the holidays! If you love International Street in June, just wait until you see it in Christmas decor and get to explore the shops and restaurants in a whole new way! In the 2000s, that is not what Kings Island is or tries to be. It is a roller coaster park. The entertainment, dining, and shopping are – by most all standards – mediocre or worse for a park of its caliber. Kings Island is marketed as a thrilling amusement park. Unless it's marketed and angled corrected, a new Winterfest at Kings Island today would just be "Kings Island without coasters." And what does that leave? Mediocre entertainment, sub-par dining, forgettable and repetitive gift shops selling awful sweatshirts? As it is, Kings Island is not a park that can survive on its shopping, dining, and entertainment, and that's precisely what Winterfest was. Busch Gardens' Christmastown event grows stronger and stronger every single year and sells out many nights. But see, "Busch Gardens without roller coasters" isn't a stretch. The park already has best-of-the-best entertainment, food, and shopping that people travel from afar to experience during the summer. But if, say, Cedar Point decided to put on a Winterfest, many would be left saying, "Why in the world should I go to Cedar Point if none of the rides are open? What is there even to do?" And that's a fair question. Maybe – just maybe – the same is worth wondering for Kings Island. How much would you pay to visit "Kings Island without coasters?"

Let the rumors fly.

That's what I mean. I'm sure Furious will bring people in, but this doesn't feel like the right format. And there are certainly more worthy properties that could be celebrated on that space. But ah well.

I'm entirely skeptical about Fast and Furious. For those who haven't been following, in 2008, a fire destroyed a large portion of the famous backlot at Universal Studios Hollywood, including a dark-ride style encounter with a giant animatronic King Kong. Instead of rebuilding the 1980s portion of the attraction, Universal brought Kong back in the brand new King Kong 360-3D, where the tram pulls into a dark tunnel and parks between two massive curved screens. The screens suddenly come to life with wrap-around imagery. Combined with motion simulating technology in the road, wind, water, and 3D, the attraction makes it feel that guests are falling, driving, being attacked, etc. It's really awesome. Like, seriously. Video here. And next year, Universal Orlando is opening Reign of Kong, a full-sized immersive dark ride that's almost 100% certainly going to include the 90-second Hollywood experience as its centerpiece. So, it'll be a full-length dark ride, but built around the signature moment of entering into a clone of the existing 360 3D tunnel, probably using the same ride footage as Hollywood's Studio Tour Kong. Now, the process is happening all over again. This summer, Hollywood's park opened another new attraction along the Studio Tour which uses precisely the same concept with the 3D wraparound screen, but this time it's based around The Fast and the Furious (which, by the way, I think is strange... Kong is really cool because of its technology... but to pull out of Kong's showbuilding, turn the corner, and head right into another show building with the same trick up its sleeve? Weird.) Shortly thereafter, Florida did the same as they had with Kong, announcing that they were building a FULL Fast and the Furious attraction which will doubtlessly include the wraparound tunnel 360 projection as its signature moment. While I get that F&F is Universal's new golden child (on sequel #6 and counting), I don't think it's worth having in the parks. Not when Jaws, Back to the Future, Universal Monsters, Dreamworks, etc. are left out. What's worse, Hollywood's Fast and Furious Studio Tour (video here) has gotten dismal, awful reviews, so to build an entire attraction around it seems... unwise. I don't know. I'm confident that it'll bring people into the parks. But quality over quantity for me, and it doesn't seem like Fast and the Furious is worth immortalizing while so many worthy films are left out. And call me crazy, but I liked Disaster. I liked Twister, too. But Race Through New York will be an improvement. I don't doubt that.

Unfortunately, I only know as much as anyone else. But Universal seems to understand the questions that would arise: – Via http://blog.universalorlando.com/whats-new/jimmy-fallon-new-ride/ Remember that the rumors for this attraction started awhile ago, often suggesting that it would be a "spoof" of Disney's Soarin' Over California, utilizing a similar ride system. (Insiders referred to it as "Soarin' Over New York" though I'm sure that was never intended to be the actual name lest Disney get miffed...) But according to Universal, you'll get the whole set-up in the queue as you tour the studio, then board the ride for a fast-paced, no doubt humorous tour of the city. Maybe compare it to Twister. What was the "story" of Twister? Were we an audience? Were we supposed to feel like we were really there, experiencing a real tornado? Was it a special effects show? That didn't have a very clear premise at all. So we'll see, but I have confidence that it'll be a nice aside for a day at the park. Maybe what would be a C-ticket or slightly better. Depends on the ride system, the details, the story, etc. Now, Fast and the Furious? That, I'm not looking forward to. I suspect it'll be gone in 15 years, too. At least, I hope so.

Universal's actually been shying away from the "studio" schmaltziness (which was big in the 1990s) in favor of turning the studio park's areas into immersive, Islands-of-Adventure-style lands (see Springfield, Diagon Alley, etc) so I see this – at least in a small way – in that vein: they'll no doubt completely renovate the exterior of the Twister showbuilding (which currently is flat, tan "soundstage" style) and craft it into an accurate recreation of Fallon's studio with the marquee outside, etc. So at least partially, I think it'll craft the park's New York into a better, more accurate area overall. It's also very Universal in that it's "new and now." It's a ride that, presumably, will no longer be at Universal Studios in 15 years. As silly as that sounds, Universal Orlando has two (maybe three?) attractions left from opening day (which, while it seems distant, was only in 1990...). They're in a constant race to keep their parks relevant. They don't have the longevity in properties the way that Disney does, but that know that. So they're aggressive about keeping things up-to-date. Sure, that has its downsides (as beloved attractions disappear frequently - Back to the Future, Jaws, Kong, etc) it does keep the park fresh. If those three rides were still the headliners, I don't think Universal would have the market share that it does. Those classic attractions are missed greatly, but what replaced them is almost certainly better for the business. Fallon probably won't be hosting his show in 15 years, and I expect that this ride will also be done. It is what it is. For now, it's a property people really enjoy.

At the end of the day, I feel like it's just over. Parks in far better shape have been lost to time. Conneaut Lake doesn't just need to survive, it needs to be completely rebuilt. I can't imagine that the funds for that would ever become available, and even if the park could maintain its current state for any indefinite future, that's not enough. I don't know all the legal background and I don't have the financial understanding many here do. Instead, I see a very sad, catatonic park in a very quiet area. I don't want anyone's favorite or local park to close ever, but when I visited Conneaut Lake I saw a park too far gone. I don't know.

To be fair, Universal's prices have risen STEEPLY over the last few years, but if you consider where they started, what you're getting for (and what they're doing with) the money, and how they compare to Disney's, maybe it's justified. Even ignoring all of that: Park Tickets Universal 3-Day Park-to-Park ticket: $204.99 ($69 per day) Walt Disney World 3-Day Park Hopper ticket: $325 ($108 per day) Annual Passes Universal Medium-Tier No-Blockout Pass: $334.99 (nearly equal to that Walt Disney World 3-Day ticket, btw) Disney World Medium-Tier No-Blockout Pass: $749.00 After Disney's latest meteoric rise in ticket pricing, hordes of Disney fans are currently proclaiming that they'll never give Disney another dollar, but will instead switch to Universal Annual Passes. You – as a Universal Annual Passholder – say the opposite. Put another way: The grass is always greener. Familiarity breeds contempt. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

I think it would be difficult to find anyone who listed Twister: Ride It Out among their top reasons for planning a trip to Universal Orlando. Maybe people won't for Race Through New York either (and I can think of a half dozen better names off the top of my head), but at least it's current. NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast.

Here's my thing: if you're talking "best day of the year" and trying to highlight the park's strengths, place a photographer right in front of the fountains (like, where the park logo is), one in front of the Snoopy at the entrance to Planet Snoopy, one on the runway toward Flight of Fear's hangar, one in front of Banshee's station, etc. Those are the places you should be capturing, and those are the places where people would want. The photographers should be available and well-marked, but guests initiate. You know folks want their photo in front of the fountain, so build a little queue and the photographers can snap one on their camera, and one on the guest's phone. At Disney Parks, a photographer may see that you're about to take a group photo and offer to take it for you. Sure, they'll snap one on their own camera, too, but they're there to assist, not to bludgeon you with low quality, mass-produced photography. It's almost as if Cedar Fair's photography has become a caricature of itself. Like, they're TRAINED to race up in front of you, hold a camera up, and yell "SQUEEZE TOGETHER FOR A QUICK PHOTO" to every group from behind the lens. That doesn't exude quality. It feels cheap and tacky and awful. If you DO say yes, you literally squeeze together and see the camera flash 4 seconds later, then you're off. No balancing, no focusing, no steadying the camera. It's a cartoon version of the process, and apparently they see no value in changing it. Put photographers where people want them. Once little Timmy conquers Flight of Fear, a well-trained, helpful photographer with a basic or better understanding of photography is ready to take their time and set up a high-quality photo in front of the hangar.

Maybe do like Busch Gardens or Disney. Have photographers available in key spots – like in front of the Eiffel Tower and in front of Boo Blasters and The Beast – and allow guests to approach THEM instead. As it is now, you're bombarded at the front gate. And if you say yes, they snap your photo right where you are, with the back of the turnstiles as your backdrop! With a 300 foot Eiffel Tower and Royal Fountains ignored! Huh?! I get that it's a "get them as quick as you can" kind of system but maybe photos (and food, attractions, shows, etc), should switch to a quality over quantity system.